The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stock Has Average Target Price of $93.79

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is cautious: Sixteen analysts give Clorox an average “Reduce” rating, with 4 sells, 11 holds and 1 buy; the average 12-month price target is $93.79.
• Quarterly results beat estimates: Clorox reported EPS of $1.55 versus $1.07 expected and revenue of $1.91 billion, up 33.3% year over year.
• Clorox declared a $1.25 quarterly dividend, equivalent to $5 annually and a 5.0% yield; a director also bought 4,000 shares at an average $100.06 each.

Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $93.79.

A number of equities analysts have commented on CLX shares. Zacks Research cut Clorox from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Clorox from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore raised Clorox from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $99.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, November 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, Director Pierre Breber purchased 4,000 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $100.06 per share, for a total transaction of $400,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,201,320. This represents a 22.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in Clorox in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Markowski Investments bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of CLX stock opened at $99.80 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $87.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.67. Clorox has a 12-month low of $79.12 and a 12-month high of $128.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.91. The firm has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.59.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.48. Clorox had a return on equity of 608.30% and a net margin of 9.41%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. Clorox's revenue for the quarter was up 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Clorox's payout ratio is 89.93%.

Clorox Company Profile

The Clorox Company is a consumer products company founded in 1913 and headquartered in Oakland, California. It makes and markets products for household cleaning, food, water filtration, personal care and pet care.

Its portfolio includes Clorox disinfecting and cleaning products, Glad trash bags and food-storage products, Kingsford charcoal, Brita water filters, Hidden Valley dressings and sauces, Burt's Bees personal-care products, and Fresh Step cat litter. The company also sells products under brands such as Pine-Sol and Liquid-Plumr.

Clorox serves consumers primarily in the United States and also sells products in international markets.

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